Despite having had $3.51m spent on upgrading it, a 28km section of the Blyth Plains Road has begun to deteriorate after less than six months of use. 

“Works on this Australia and SA government co-funded project were only completed a few months ago as part of the Rural Road Package, and already the surface is breaking down, leaving dirt for varying distances and potholes on either side of the join of the old road to the extended new width seal,” Member for Frome Geoff Brock said. 

“This is not good enough.

 “Millions of dollars have been spent upgrading this road ready for harvest season, which has now started, and the road is already needing urgent repair works. 

“Where is the accountability and supervision of this work?” 

Mr Brock has been lobbying since 2014 for this road to receive an upgrade to accommodate the heavy vehicles which use it on a regular basis, especially during harvest season.   

“It is extremely disappointing that, after finally addressing this issue, it is already in such poor condition.” 

Mr Brock said the sharp drop offs and potholes now developing on the surface this ‘new’ road upgrade has become hazardous for all road users and he is concerned for their safety. 

Former Transport Minister Stephan Knoll announced the upgrades to the road in Parliament in March this year in response to questions by Mr Brock who had again brought the matter up as a safety issue. 

Mr Knoll said at the time that he was excited by the proposed work which would be part of a ‘safety package … to help improve road safety on that dangerous stretch of road.’ 

“It seems that although the State Government acknowledged the dangerous state of the road at the time, citing it as a reason for spending $3.5m on the upgrade, there have been no measures in place to ensure the quality of the work, and the result is that a great deal of money has been spent to make the road even more dangerous for users,” Mr Brock said. 

 “I am asking that Transport Minister, Corey Wingard, take immediate measures to investigate the quality of the work and begin remediation works as soon as possible.” 

Mr Brock said he had spent more than four years lobbying to have this stretch of road upgraded for safety reasons and was vastly disappointed and extremely concerned at the outcome – he is hoping for a swift resolution to this issue.